Anil Biswas

A social drama that focuses on the struggles of a cherished daughter as she navigates societal expectations and family conflicts that threaten her personal happiness and romantic choices.

Ostensibly a Central Asian war fantasy about a conflict between the Cossacks and the Tartars, Mehboob’s film proposes a tale advocating national independence. The Cossacks are oppressed by the despotic Russian king (Siddiqui) and his minister Jabir (Kayamali), who has Tartar blood in him. General Murad (Kumar) covertly sides with the opposition, gets arrested for treason and escapes. He meets the wild Gulnar (Sitara Devi) and gets her to spy as a maid of Princess Nigar (Bibbo). Nigar falls for Murad and Gulnar withdraws from the scene for the sake of her nation. Eventually Nigar, at the head of an army of women, helps defeat the villains.

Nightingale (Kokila) is a 1937 Hindi social family drama film directed by Sarvottam Badami

Mehboob presents the autonomous passion of Leela (Rose) for Moti (Motilal) who is promised to another woman, Bina (Maya). Leela is portrayed as irresponsible and impulsive as she acknowledges her desire for Moti and has a child by him. Bina then releases Moti from his promise. Moti suffers when he is told by Bina’s father (Sankantha) that she is dead, while Leela’s father (Pande) enjoins his daughter to commit suicide if Moti does not marry her. In spite of the film’s endorsement of ‘traditional’, lethally oppressive patriarchal mores, incarnated by the women’s fathers, Mehboob’s narrative at least dares to depict a woman who refuses to feel guilty about her desire.

This first co-production of the Soviet and Indian cinematographers is dedicated to the Tver merchant Afanasy Nikitin who in 1466-1472 blazed the trade way from Europe to India. The film is based on Nikitin’s travel notes. Starring in the film are popular Russian actor Oleg Strizhenov and India’s 1950s movie star Nargis.

A wealthy, scheming rival attempts to halt the marriage of Prakash and Rani through blackmail, but the young lovers and their friend execute a cunning counter-scheme to expose the plot and ensure a double wedding.

A. R. Kardar’s Pooja tells a disturbing story of two estranged sisters whose lives are fractured by a violent act of revenge and years of buried truths.

Childless farmer Ram Dayal comes across an abandoned child, who had landed from a spaceship, takes him home to his wife, where they decide to adopt him and name him Jaikumar. When he grows up he excels in wrestling, overcoming even much older children. Then he uses his powers to discover buried treasure, which his foster father donates to the Government. Years later, Jaikumar has re-located to Bombay where he works as a Journalist with a publication called 'Azad Desh'. Using his super-powers, he is able to unearth a number of criminal conspiracies and makes phone calls as 'Mr. Superman' to Inspector Dilip Desai. Then a series of robberies take place and the police are notified by victim/complainants that the culprit is none other than the masked caped crusader himself. Watch what impact this has on Jaikumar's credibility with the police and public on one hand and with gangsters on the other.